What makes people snore and
what to do about it
By JANICE GASTON
Winston-Salem Journal

February 17, 2006
Friday

A snore can rip through the quiet of night like a thunderclap
on a cloudless day.

Snoring disrupts sleep and
fractures relationships. It causes resentment and hurt feelings.
It can drive couples apart, both physically and emotionally.

According to a poll conducted
by the National Sleep Foundation in 2005, 59 percent of adults
between the ages of 18 and 65 reported that they snore. More
than half of those who reported snoring said that their snoring
bothered others. And 7 percent said that their snoring was loud
enough to be heard in adjacent rooms.

There's snoring, and there's
"heroic" snoring, noise that can be heard more than
two bedrooms away, according to the University of California,
Irvine. Heroic snoring can disturb entire households.

Both men and women snore. But
men are at least twice as likely as women to snore, said Dr.
Brandon Chandos. Chandos is a neurologist and the director of
neurophysiology at North Carolina's Forsyth Medical Center. "The
reason is probably anatomical," he said. "Men have
fatter necks, which constricts the airway."

What makes people snore? "The
sound is produced by vibration of the soft tissue in the back
of the throat as air tries to pass through a constricted airway,"
Chandos said. "Anything that affects the flow of air can
cause snoring." Culprits can be sinus congestion, enlarged
tonsils or adenoids or a long soft palate. Other risk factors
for snoring include being overweight and/or over the age of 40,
having a neck size greater than 17 inches and having a family
history of snoring. Drinking too much and taking muscle relaxants
can also cause a person to snore.

Snoring usually has consequences
for those who sleep with or near the snorer. They are the ones
who can't fall asleep because of the noise or wake up when the
snoring starts. But some people snore because they suffer from
sleep apnea, a condition that causes them to stop breathing,
sometimes as often as 300 times a night. Breathing can stop for
a few seconds or for as long as a minute. The breathing pauses
disturb sleep, and sleep apnea's sufferers often feel drowsy
during the day. They sometimes suffer from mood changes and have
trouble concentrating. Sleep apnea can be associated with heart
disease, diabetes and stroke.

Solutions to snoring vary,
according to its causes.

"The first treatment is
usually the spouse hitting the individual with their elbow and
saying, 'Turn over,'" Chandos said. "The second treatment
is learning to sleep in a position that decreases snoring, usually
sleeping on the side. When you sleep on your back, the tongue
and palate are more likely to fall against the back of the throat,
narrowing that airway."

Some people with minor snoring
problems find relief from over-the-counter remedies, such as
nasal sprays or breathing strips that help open the nasal passages
and allow air to pass more easily.

Sometimes weight loss can effectively
end snoring. Dental appliances that change the way sleepers hold
their jaws when they sleep can work.

Surgery may be needed to solve
some peoples' snoring, said Dr. Whit Mims, an otolaryngologist
One solution is to insert small pieces of woven polyester, called
pillars, in the soft palate to stiffen it. That method has a
success rate of about 70 percent. Another method is to zap the
soft palate with radio-frequency waves in order to shrink the
tissues, which will make them less likely to vibrate, Mims said.
The procedure, with a success rate of 60 percent to 70 percent,
often has to be repeated. Both procedures cost between $1,500
to $3,000, Mims said, and are usually not covered by health insurance.

Other surgeries might include
a tonsillectomy or repair of a deviated septum, Chandos said.

Surgical treatment of snoring
is more likely to be successful in relatively young patients
who are not overweight, he said.

Snorers with sleep apnea and
those whose snoring isn't relieved by surgery can benefit from
continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, treatment, which
requires the sleeper to wear a nasal mask that provides a constant
level of air pressure.

"It kind of pushes the
air in," Mims said. "The pressure keeps tissues open
that would otherwise tend to close." Some people have trouble
learning to sleep while wearing the mask, he said, but those
who do usually find they sleep much better.